Boyd Gaming Corporation $BYD Shares Sold by Cohen & Steers Inc.

Key Points

• Cohen & Steers Inc. cut its Boyd Gaming stake by 49.7% in the fourth quarter, though it still held about 1.19% of the company worth roughly $79.5 million.
• Boyd Gaming’s latest quarterly results missed analyst expectations, with EPS of $1.60 versus the $1.76 estimate and revenue of $997.4 million versus the $1.04 billion forecast.
• The company announced a $500 million share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, while insiders, including the chairman and CEO, recently sold shares.

Cohen & Steers Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD - Free Report) by 49.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 933,084 shares of the company's stock after selling 922,957 shares during the quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned about 1.19% of Boyd Gaming worth $79,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 4th quarter worth about $58,763,000. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Boyd Gaming in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,295,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 196.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 611,207 shares of the company's stock worth $52,099,000 after purchasing an additional 405,340 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Boyd Gaming by 109.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 654,434 shares of the company's stock worth $56,576,000 after purchasing an additional 342,575 shares during the period. Finally, Arbejdsmarkedets Tillaegspension purchased a new stake in shares of Boyd Gaming during the 4th quarter valued at about $24,675,000. 76.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BYD. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $89.00 to $87.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley restated a "mixed" rating on shares of Boyd Gaming in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $99.00 to $96.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Boyd Gaming from $84.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $92.08.

Boyd Gaming Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Boyd Gaming stock opened at $87.33 on Friday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $84.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.83, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.08. Boyd Gaming Corporation has a 1-year low of $73.00 and a 1-year high of $89.96.

Boyd Gaming (NYSE:BYD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.16). Boyd Gaming had a return on equity of 25.63% and a net margin of 44.84%.The firm had revenue of $997.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Boyd Gaming Corporation will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Boyd Gaming Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Boyd Gaming's payout ratio is currently 3.51%.

Boyd Gaming announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 23rd that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 7.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Marianne Boyd Johnson sold 62,914 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.03, for a total transaction of $5,286,663.42. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,609,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at $135,272,166.24. The trade was a 3.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Keith Smith sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.90, for a total value of $8,590,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,981 shares in the company, valued at $85,640,667.90. This trade represents a 9.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 200,000 shares of company stock worth $17,038,987 in the last three months. Company insiders own 22.82% of the company's stock.

Boyd Gaming Company Profile

Boyd Gaming Corporation NYSE: BYD is a diversified hospitality and gaming company headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company develops, owns and operates a portfolio of branded gaming and entertainment properties, including casinos, hotels, restaurants and meeting facilities. Boyd Gaming's offerings range from slot machines and table games to live entertainment, dining concepts and convention space, designed to appeal to both regional and destination visitors.

Founded in 1975 by its namesake, William S.

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